HHHC9301 KEMAHIRAN PENGURUSAN MAKLUMAT DAN PEMBELAJARAN
SEPANJANG HAYAT (SET 48) SEMESTER 1 AY2014/2015
Topic: Environmental Management is better through legal mechanism than non legal
mechanism.
Lecturer: Mr. Ramalinggam A/L A.Rajamanickam
Group members (Group 2) :
Num.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10.
Name
Amalina binti Johar
Candice Shih Yuh Ru
DG Roziekah binti Ussin
Hew Wai Lin
Hiu Jing Yin
Low Qin Hui
Ooi Wan Mei
Putri Nabila Nur Ain binti Alias
Nurul Farahin binti Sasaruddin
Sharannya A/P Sundaramoorthy
Matriculation Number
A146472
A146485
A146498
A146437
A146416
A146429
A146420
A146467
A146974
A146425
Motion: Environmental Management is better through legal mechanism than non-legal
mechanism.
Government
Environment is defined as the surrounding and everything that affect an organism during
its lifetime. In another words, environment is us, humans, and our surroundings including water,
air and land and the relationships among these elements and also with the human being, other
living organisms and property. On the other hand, environmental management is defined as
the management of the interaction and impact of human activities on the environment. The purpose
of environmental management is to ensure that ecosystem and biodiversity are protected and
maintained to be used by future human generations and it also includes the protection, preservation
and conservation of the environment.
Meanwhile, legal mechanism is defined as a set of instrument for law enforcement. Legal
mechanism, among others, includes the substantive law, the procedural law, the organic law, the
international law, the policy and regulations. Substantive law is the statutory law or written law
that defines rights and duties, such as crimes and punishments (in the criminal law) and civil rights
and responsibilities in civil law. For example, the Environmental Quality Act 1974 which regulates
the prevention, control of pollution and the enhancement of environment. Procedural law
comprises the rules by which a court hears and determines what happens in civil or criminal
proceedings, as well as the method and means by which substantive law is made and administered.
Organic law is a law or system of laws which forms the foundation of a government,
corporation or other organization's body of rules. For example, the act made of parliament which
creates a broad framework for the control of various pollutants. International law includes
international conventions or treaties. Malaysia is party to international environmental agreements
on various environmental issues such as endangered species, marine life conservation and ozone
layer protection. One of the conventions which Malaysia is a party of is the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora which is an international
agreement between governments aimed to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild
animals and plants do not threaten their survival. Among the obligations of the parties to this
convention is to take enforcement measures, including confiscation of and penalties for listed
specimens illegally obtained. Legal mechanism also includes policy and regulations which
regulates and monitors civil and criminal actions to enforce environmental law, such as granting
license and permits for activities that may pose threats to the environment. Meanwhile, non-legal
mechanism is defined as a system or method not sanctioned by law such as through education and
non-governmental organization.
The safeguard of the environmental sustainability is best upheld through the legal
mechanism or the enforcement of law. Hence, environmental management is more efficient
through legal mechanism than non-legal mechanism.
Law is a set of rules set to govern a nation. Having legal mechanism in society is to
uphold the value of society as well as to ensure the protection of right of every citizen. Legal
mechanism is better and is a more comprehensive mechanism as compared to non-legal
mechanism in terms of environmental management.
First and foremost, legal mechanism emphasizes on accountability. One can be held
accountable and responsible for wrongdoing to the environment. Legal mechanism is of
compulsory basis and it applies to everyone equally, this is different for non-legal mechanism
where it is of voluntary basis. It is optional for one to participate in non-legal mechanism or
otherwise. When a mechanism is not compulsory for everyone, it is seems to be ineffective. By
analogy, it is a matter of choice, to preserve the environment or otherwise in non-legal
mechanism. However, in legal mechanism, when one is not given choices to choose to oblige
with the law, one knows that he will be punished if he goes against the law, by way of this,
individual will be extra careful in regard with environmental wrongdoing.
Secondly, legal mechanism develops sense of responsibility in oneself. One will be afraid
of doing wrong because they knew that they will be punished for wrong doing . When one is
afraid of doing wrong, he will think twice before doing things, this helps to reduce wrong doings.
In the same time, sense of responsibility in preserving the environment is vested in an individual
itself, the individual believes that they are part of the environment and will initiate to preserve
the environment. This helps in deterring environmental nuisance too.
Lastly, legal mechanism comes together with sanction. Sanction is proved to be an
effective measure in reducing recidivism rate. Legal mechanism empowers the authority with
jurisdiction to sanction individual or group of people with punishment if there is wrongdoing.
However, non legal mechanism is not provided with such jurisdiction. When they found out that
there is wrongdoer, they are unable to punish the individual. Non legal mechanism is of
voluntary basis as mentioned above, so under non-legal mechanism, individual cannot be
punished, and it is not of mandatory or compulsory for an individual to be rehabilitated through
non legal mechanism. It is crystal clear that non legal mechanism is not sufficient and
comprehensive as for environmental management.
In short, legal mechanism is a better mechanism in environmental management than non
legal mechanism. As according to a renowned author named Goffman, dramatic changes can be
made to individual within a short period of time, but without reinforcement of law, more
individual will return to their former patterns of behavior. Reinforcement of law can produce
long term change. Legal mechanism is seen to be a long-term investment to uphold the value of
society, to ensure rights of every citizen is being protected as well as to produce better and more
positive outcome in terms of deterrence and recidivism rate than non legal mechanism.
Environmental Management is better through legal mechanism because there is sanction
in management through legal mechanism. The statue which is normally used in Malaysia would
be the Environment Quality Act 1974. This act was enacted to punish the people who do harm to
the environment.
Section 18 of the Environment Quality Act makes it compulsory for the application of
license to control pollution. In other words, the person who needs to transfer or dispose the waste
shall first apply for a license issued by the Minister. The application of license make it easier for
the Minister to control and govern the waste or pollutants disposed and the Minister can revoke
the license once they found that there is misuse of the license. The Minister can also control the
number of emission of the waste into the environment by controlling the number of license
given.
By having Environment Quality Act, the punishment to each action which pollutes or
disturbs the harmony of the environment has been given and everyone who endangers the
environment shall be liable and be charged in court.
For example in section 22 of the Environment Quality Act, given that any person who
pollutes the atmosphere shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine of not exceeding RM
100,000 or to a imprisonment not exceeding 5 years. There are still other restrictions on pollution
such as the restriction of pollution on water in section 25, which given the liability to person who
discharge or deposit waste into inland water be liable to a fine not exceeding RM 100,000 or
imprisonment for a period not exceeding 5years or both. This section prohibits people who
would pollute the inland water because of the existence of severe punishment.
Legal mechanism is a better solution than rehabilitation. This is because by way of
punishment, people will not pollute the environment because of fear to be charged by the
authority. The serious punishment given by the act will make the people who intend to pollute
the environment to stop his act because of the sanction. Although creating awareness is also
important to decrease the number of pollution, the more effective way of preventing pollution
should be by the governance of authority, because it will at least has some effect and punishment
to the people who pollute the environment. This is different from rehabilitation, which will not
give any effect to the people creating pollution and therefore there is nothing to stop them from
pollution. In short, environmental management is better by the way of legal mechanism because
it provides sanction to the people who pollute the environment.
Environmental Management is better through the legal mechanisms than non-legal
mechanism. Legal mechanism is more efficient in prevention of environmental issues. This is
because they have a specific scope in handling the environmental issues as set out in law. This
including prior assessment of environmental harms , licensing or authorization that set out the
conditions for operation and the consequences for violation of the conditions, as well as the
adoption of strategies and policies . Emission limits and other product or process standards, the
use of best available techniques and similar techniques can all be seen as applications of the
concept of prevention of environmental delinquency through legal mechanism.
Environmental Management is better through the legal mechanism than non-legal
mechanism. Rise of legal mechanism is a more efficient way in the concept of prevention of
environment problems. They have specific scope and reference in dealing with this particular
matter. This includes prior assessment of environmental harm, licensing or authorization that set
out the conditions for operation and the consequences for violation of the conditions, as well as
the adoption of strategies and policies. Emission limits and other product or process standards,
the use of best available techniques and similar techniques can all be seen as applications of the
concept of prevention.
Legal mechanisms is a more efficient way in handling the forest management as compared
to non-legal mechanism .The National Forestry Act of 1984 and the National Forestry Policy of
1978 are two primary laws related to forestry activities in Malaysia . Forestry laws govern
activities in designated forest lands, most commonly with respect to forest management and
timber harvesting. According to Section 15 of the National Forest Act 1984, any person who
wants to take any forest produce from permanent reserved forest must get the license or permit
from the related authority. Under this section, government can control the number of forest
activities in permanent reserved forest and this cannot be done through non-legal mechanism as
they do not possess any jurisdiction in regard with this matter. Regarding to this, government
will have the power whether to give the right to the company to have forest produce or not via
legal mechanism. Besides that, government can supervise the forestry activities and prohibits
illegal activities. On contrary, non-legal mechanism which is not of mandatory basis cannot
achieve the same outcome and this proves that legal mechanism is a better mechanism in
environmental management.
In conclusion, legal mechanism is a more comprehensive mechanism in environmental
management which is holistic enough to cover every part of management to avoid exploitation as
well as to preserve the environment. Environmental management through legal mechanism,
which is of punitive and rehabilitative in nature, develops sense of responsibility in human being,
as well as makes human being feel that they belong to the environment and they are part of the
environment itself. Legal mechanism comes together with sanction which makes human being
afraid of making mistake because they are afraid of the said sanctions, this helps to reduce the
rate of commission of environmental nuisance as well as recidivism rate. Legal mechanism
provides the authority with jurisdiction not only to punish but to issue license which is able to
limit the number of people involved in activities such as deforestation and hunting. Most
importantly, legal mechanism is applicable to everyone, includes the lawmakers. This makes
legal mechanism a better mechanism because when there is applicability to everyone, like it or
not, everyone would have to oblige to the law, and this will ensure a everlasting healthy
environment, ensure social and economic stability towards a developed nation.
Opposition
Environmental Management is More Efficient through Legal Mechanism than Non Legal
Mechanism
Malaysia is one of the very environmentally rich countries in the world. At present, her traditions
and heritage have been facing with numerous environmental problems such as air pollution,
water pollution, exploitation of natural resources etc. In order to cope with the environmental
problems, the Government of Malaysia has passed some important environmental laws and
policies such as the Environment Quality Act 1974 and its Regulations 1989, the Environmental
Quality Order 1989, the Protection of Wildlife Act, the International Environmental Laws and
others.
Ineffectiveness of legal mechanism as environmental issues are still on rise in Malaysia
I.
The Environmental Quality Act of 1974 is an enabling piece of legislation for
preventing, abating and controlling pollution, and enhancing the environment, or for
other related purposes.
However, air pollution remains a problem in Malaysia, especially air pollution from industrial
and vehicular emissions in the urban areas of Malaysia. Malaysia is ranked 42nd in the world in
terms of vehicle ownership per capita, with 273 Malaysians having vehicles out of every 1000.
Public transportation has been introduced in the form of bus networks and railways systems as
mitigation, but utilisation rates are low. (Sustainable Urban Transport Integration by Marcus
Evans) Legal mechanism is not effective.
II.
The National Forestry Act of 1984 was enacted for sustainable forest management.
According to the United Nations, Malaysia’s deforestation rate is the highest among tropical
nations. The country’s annual deforestation rate increased 86% between 1999-2000 to 20002005. Malaysia lost an average of 140,200 hectares of its forests or 0.65% of its total forest area
every year since 2000, whereas in the 1990s, the country lost an average of 78,500 hectares or
0.35 percent of its forest annually.
III.
Environmental Quality (Sewage and Industrial Effluents) Regulation 1979 is one of
subsidiary legislation that were formed as a legislative approach to water quality
management.
However, the discharge of untreated sewage has contaminated the nation’s water; the most
heavily polluted areas are along the west coast. Malaysia’s water pollution problem extends to its
river- 40% of the rivers in Malaysia are heavily polluted.
Non Legal Mechanism is Better than Legal Mechanism
Due to the ineffectiveness of legal mechanism in environmental management, we, the opposition
team, are against the government’s motion that “Environmental Management is More Efficient
through Legal Mechanism than Non Legal Mechanism”.
We strongly believe that “Non Legal Mechanism is better than Legal Mechanism in
Environmental Management”.
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Non legal is not related to, qualified for, or phrased in the manner of the practice of law.
Why? First argument; ineffectiveness of legal mechanism
Non legal mechanism is the alternatives that is not related with the practice of law in the
perspective of environmental management is wider, as it involves many ways of
managing the environment.
We are going to focus on five non-legal mechanisms:
 Education – formal and informal
 Awareness programmes
 Involvement of mass media
 Roles of Society
 Non-government organizations’ participation
Currently, around forty to fifty environmental related legislations in the country. But it is proven
and will be proved by the opposition team that the legal mechanism and these environmental
laws are ineffective, thus we are against the government’s motion- and we, the opposition team,
believe that non legal mechanism is better than legal mechanism in environmental management.
Environmental education is a lifelong process with the objective of imparting to its target
groups in the formal and non-formal education sectors environmental awareness, ecological
knowledge, attitudes, values, commitments for actions, and ethical responsibilities for the
rational use of resources and for sound and sustainable development.
This can be done in two ways. Firstly, is by parents and secondly is by education and
activities in school. Parents need to be a good role model for their children. They have to behave
environmental friendly, such as throw the rubbish into rubbish bin; do not pollute the
environment and so on. By doing so, child will be mould as a person who concerns about the
environment. Dr. Christien from Norway found that, child in age between 3 and 7 are more
likely to follow their parents act. By this we can preserve the environment easily without
implementing any law.
Secondly, in school the teachers will educate the children on environmental care. For
example Earth Day, on 22nd of April is the perfect opportunity to provide students with activities
that direct their attention to the environment. During the day itself, the students will learn to
preserve environment by using a recyclable water bottle and lunch bag at school as well as
recycle their papers at school, students get to plant a tree in the school yard, and student will be
required to write a letter to congress in support of environmental legislation. This gives student
better exposure of their capabilities in environmental preservation. This line of programs makes
the students realize that they are capable of preserving environment.
By environmental education, awareness of importance of preserving environment is
vested in oneself. One will initiate to preserve environment, without being forced to do so. It is
better, because it develops a healthier social norm, as well as it is fiscal friendly. When an
individual can volunteer in preserving environment, legal mechanism which involves huge
amount of fees for enforcement as well as incarceration is no longer relevant as it can be better
replaced by non legal mechanism.
It should be emphasized that environmental education, in its broadest and perhaps most
important sense, is not formal schooling. Rather, it is a process of social learning in which young
people and others are engaged in generating and transmitting knowledge as well as receiving it.
Social learning involves a multitude of activities. Non-Governmental Organisations can integrate
education with their activism. Networks of activists can work together to explore and develop
ideas—for instance, communicating how the whole idea of environmental justice arose, from the
bottom up, and providing a variety of local experiences showing the unfair distribution of
environmental hazards. Learning by doing is also important, whether through participation in
environmental restoration projects or involvement in political campaigns. In these sorts of
processes, a young person can play a role as an active participant in education rather than a
passive recipient. We can conclude that environmental issues present some of the most profound
and complex challenges requiring attention today and in the coming decades. One foundationbuilding step in enhancing local, regional, national and global capacities to respond to those
challenges is increasing environmental awareness. One way to equip people to deal with
environmental concerns is through more effective environmental education. Much of the
information people receive about environmental issues comes from the media.
Therefore, environmental educators should make greater and more concerted efforts to
promote a larger process of social learning for sustainable development. The non legal
mechanism is better than legal mechanism because via non legal we can teach the society step by
step on how to preserve environment via education and society can adapt to it more easily and
get comfortable with it. However, in legal mechanism, one is forced to accept and to oblige to
the law. Technically speaking, non legal mechanism uses milder approach which opens up
people’s mind towards acceptance and changes them towards better prospect, whereas legal
mechanism is a harsher mechanism which forcefully imposes specific rules and regulations on
citizens. Citizens tend to act oppositely as required if they are forced to obey to something which
they reluctant to. Moreover the government had already allocated specific amount of money for
educational department to carry out educational program. To have awareness program inserted in
education process gives more benefits than harm to society. However, in legal mechanism, to
have an effective legal mechanism, it involves huge amount of money, in terms of enforcement,
litigation and incarceration. Based on the reasons above, non legal mechanism is proved to be a
better and more effective mechanism in terms of environmental management than legal
mechanism.
Next, non legal mechanism in terms of environmental is effective through the power of
media and campaigns. Presentation of information and messages is important because an idea,
news or information cannot be served if we do not have the media to convey the material. Today,
the mass media play an important role in shaping the thinking of people.The mass media
including television, radio, mobile phones, computers and newspapers.
Environmental management through non-legal mechanism is far better than through legal
mechanism because people are more attracted to learn and participate in activities carried out
through non-legal mechanism like campaigns and involving in awareness activities of managing
the environment. It is the nature of human being to like attractive things, and raising awareness
through campaigns and mass media are of more fun and attractive.
We cannot expect for information and ideas to spread themselves, hence, media are the
best medium to spread ideas. The power of media had started long ago, since 1605 in Europe
when the first newspaper was published. The media is the main medium for disseminating
information and it is used all the time. Information spread through the media can also be received
quickly as the society has a fast access to the information. The media also serves as educators for
the community. Contents found in the print media are able to deliver positive impacts on readers.
In the newspapers, there is a space provided for news articles that discuss particular issues and
how to solve the issues that can be read by the public to gain knowledge. Newspapers and
magazines also act as medium to reveal many of the issues of environmental pollution. By
reading, people can know more on how to manage the environment better. By power of words,
through articles in newspapers and magazines, people will tend to think broadly of the efficient
way to manage the environment. Words are more powerful than weapons. Furthermore, reality
programs and documentaries on environmental management can be broadcasted in order to help
to a better environmental management. These programs, if done in an interesting way, people
will be attracted to learn and manage the environment better. This is different with legal
mechanism, which is lack of dissemination of information to public. It is true that law is there to
protect and uphold rights of human beings but when the citizens are not exposed to the right and
wrong, the dos and don’ts, it is of no difference if there is no law. In non legal mechanism,
information are spread widely, through all of the mediums available, citizens get to know more
and with that, they know what to do and what not to do. This is seen to be a better way to
manage the environment.
In addition, organising environmental campaigns is another way that proves
environmental management through non-legal mechanism is better than legal mechanism. Some
of the campaigns are Cintai Sungai Kita and recycling campaign .In these campaigns, the public
will be exposed about the importance and ways of protecting the environment, such as managing
waste disposal in order to lessen the pollution of the environment. Recycling campaigns can
encourage consumers to recycle materials that can be recycled. People will learn that they are
capable of protecting and preserving the environment by playing their part as part of the
environment. Besides, they gain side incomes by selling the recycling materials such as cans and
plastic bottles. Legal mechanism is by way of command and order, and non legal mechanism is
by way of offering the citizens with better alternatives to preserve the environment while
generates extra income. Which is more likely of citizens’ preference? Crystal clear, it would be
the latter.
The last point is on role played by the civil society. First of all, what is civil society? In
the broadest sense, civil society has been characterized as a sphere of social life that is public but
excludes government activities. Michael Bratton, a Political Science Professor at Michigan State
University describes civil society as social interaction between the household and the state
characterized by community cooperation and networks of public communication. The term civil
society is generally used to classify persons, institutions and organizations that have the goal of
advancing or expressing a common purpose through ideas, actions and demands on governments.
So, how does civil society play a role in environmental management?Firstly, it can be
done through inputs into policy development. Over the past decades, individuals and NGOs have
assumed a more active role in the process of agenda-setting and policy development. NGOs are
now playing important roles in framing the environmental policy, mobilizing public support for
environmental conservation, and protecting the endangered species of forests and animals. They
have been instrumental in notifying the public, governments, and international organizations of
critical new issues for many years. Greenpeace, an international organization, which aims at
promoting environmental awareness, has played an important role in preserving the environment,
which is proved by its successful achievements in:
1. A ban on toxic waste exports to less developed countries.
2. A United Nations convention providing for better management of world fisheries.
3. Ban on the dumping at sea of radioactive and industrial waste and disused oil installations.
4. A ban on all nuclear weapons testing.
Hence, it can be seen that the development of a structure for civil society participation
and engagement in the decision making processes is necessary.
Secondly, civil society can play a role through assessment and monitoring. Performance
assessments and monitoring of environmental conditions undertaken by the public and NGOs
may hold decision makers in the government accountable for decision in ways that the legal
mechanism could never accomplish. Thomas Weiss ,a scholar of international relations, with
special expertise in the politics of the United Nations notes, “NGOs are capable of making
sensitive or politically important information public – something that intergovernmental
organizations often are reluctant to do because of their dependence for resources. A number of
NGO-led or assisted assessment initiatives are currently under way. For example :
(1) Creation of a comprehensive database for information and analysis. NGOs are key
providers of local environmental data and information. A coherent mechanism for data
collection and analysis will encourage this function and facilitate a two-way information
flow.
Hence, it can be said that environmental management is definitely more efficient by nonlegal mechanism such as civil society. This is because civil society involves a larger part of the
population instead of just the enforcement officers as in the case of the use of legal mechanism.
To sum up, the first point presented is that the legal mechanism was insufficient in its
effectiveness to perform its role in regards to environmental management. This is seen through
the ineffectiveness of our environmental laws. For example, we have the National Forestry Act in
place, but why is environmental pollution still so rampant and on-going? Although the law applies
to everyone single person but its effectiveness is limited when there is lack of enforcement by the
authority. This said to be part of human nature where we tend to neglect the law when we think
we can get away with it. Hence, the initiative by everyone to protect the environment is more
effective compared to being forced to do it and this initiative can be instilled through other means.
The second point given is that education serves as a more effective alternative compared
to the legal mechanism. It is more effective because education can be separated into informal and
formal education and each responsibility lies with different parties. For example, parents play role
to provide environmental education to their children by being a good example on how to act out
our responsibility to preserve the environment. This is more effective as the parents spend the most
of their time with their children and have great influence over how they will conduct their lives
later on. Furthermore, the school provides a platform to educate the students about the intricacies
of the environment through curricular and co-curricular activities.
The third point given is that media campaign can provide a more effective environmental
management as well. The media plays an important role in shaping what the people think and
knows and acts. The contents in the media can provide a positive impact where the people can gain
knowledge and awareness about the environment and hence shape how they interact with the
environment. It is also a platform to reveal about the raw facts of what is happening to our
environment such as pollutions. This awareness could lead to people taking appropriate actions
such as recycling campaigns in their own backyard.
The last point given is that the civil society in the country plays an impactful role as well
in shaping what is environment management. This is seen through the inputs given into the Policy
Department. For example, Greenpeace played an important role in preserving the environment,
which is supported by its successful achievement in many aspects. The society also involves a
large part of the population instead of the number of enforcement officers.
Based on the reasons given, non-legal mechanism is a better approach and mechanism in
terms of environmental management, because it takes into account all level of population, but
unlike legal mechanism, which comprises only of the lawmakers. When it involves all level of
population, it is more likely that the rate of participation in non legal mechanism will be relatively
higher and more encouraging; this can subsequently lead to reduction of environmental issues and
lastly develop a better environment for the current and future generations.